Mountain High Tips

MechAssault® 2: Lone Wolf offers gamers a limited edition with bonus DVD content and two exclusive multiplayer maps. The first map, Troubled Waters, is available for Destruction and Grinder games, but the other, Mountain High, is open to all game types. Here's a look at the terrain and how to use it to your advantage in team games.

Water falls, but you keep fighting.

The most important feature of Mountain High isn't the mountains, but the valley. Most of the map is lowlands that are completely submerged in water that pours in from the spectacular waterfalls in the middle. There are dry-land routes along the ridges that border the inland sea and high ground for scouts and snipers, but most of your 'Mech-on-'Mech action takes place in knee-deep water. Teams begin each engagement at one of the cul-de-sacs at the north and south ends of the map. Each team starts on a natural rock shelf, facing another shelf across the water that provides an excellent view of anyone trying to approach the base. Once the match begins and you've chosen a vehicle, you must fly, hike along the ridge, or wade through the water towards the central waterfall area, where the walls widen enough to give big 'Mechs moving room, and a central stone plateau overlooks the entire scene.

The map doesn't support tanks because of the water, which also presents problems for BattleArmor and some of the slower 'Mechs. It's also an advantage to those 'Mechs that tend to run hot because the water cuts back on heat production so you can keep firing longer without malfunction. Charge up the Nova Cat's 5x laser array or the Ragnorak's Lava Gun to your heart's content—as long as there's water to bleed off the excess heat. 'Mechs on this map also include the Summoner, Catapult, and Blood Asp.

Rise above it all.

The central area, with the islands and the waterfalls, is the focus of most objective-based team games like Check It! and Snatch It!. In these games it's important to have one teammate in a VTOL or BattleArmor to make sure you reach this crucial area as quickly as possible. Even the fastest 'Mech gives your flying opponent time to reach and hack a Check Point, so don't leave them the option: Send out your own light-armor flier and make the other team fight for it. If you arrive and the other team is in mid-hack, kill them before they finish, or steal their vehicle, kill them, and then reconvert the site to your color when it's safe. Remember that each converted check point eventually spawns a turret to support whichever team controls it. If you don't secure at least one of the checkpoints in the central area, you're going to be at a serious disadvantage and may even be forced to retreat back to your own base away from all the action.

This middle area also features several key strategic positions that provide both high ground and cover. These ridges and stone platforms are scattered evenly around the map so that both camps and the central area can put them to good use. It's especially rewarding to put the hurt on some unsuspecting opponent from above as they wade through the water. You can do a lot of damage even with the mortar on your BattleArmor, but if you're using something with a little more oomph—like the Mad Cat's PPC or the Catapult's missiles—you'll hand out death from above like Ivan Drago on a stepladder. Once you've taken these positions, all you need to do is keep your eye on the action and support your more mobile teammates as they rush around the map.

Knee deep in action.

Mountain High is designed to be a flexible map for whatever game you choose to play, but pulls off "all-purpose" without feeling generic. It supports many different team strategies, from close-quarters 'Mech combat to stealthy speed and avoidance. It's small enough so that the enemy is never very far away, but the configuration also lets you set up an effective defense perimeter for your team's base. The terrain features elements that are both strategically important and aesthetically beautiful.

In other words, this Limited Edition map really is something special.

By Luke Judge